Squid Sucker Teeth Inspire New Materials

Jul-06-14 Squid sucker teeth have inspired a new range of materials that are both strong and malleable and show promise for use in reconstructive surgery.

The sucker ring teeth (SRT) found on squid tentacles are made entirely of protein, which is unusual for most hard, natural materials. Now an international team of researchers has identified 38 of those proteins and their structure to determine how the components of the proteins form in to “ß-sheets"—which is the same structural makeup that helps to make spider silk so strong. The team hopes that eventually they will be able to create synthetic SRT material in the lab for use as artificial ligaments or scaffolds to grow bone, or even as a substitute for fossil fuel-based packaging materials.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
[ACS.ORG]

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